When you click the new Start Button (bottom left corner of your screen), you will see the new Start Menu. Frequently used items will appear in the list by default. To access the complete list of programs on the computer, you will click or move the cursor over the All Programs menu item.

As an alternative method to finding and launching applications, you can use a new feature called Start Menu Search. To use this, you will click the Start Button (or press the Windows key on the keyboard) and begin typing the name of the application you are trying to access. You can then either...

The default option for when you are done using the computer is to Shutdown. However, if you need to Restart, Log off, etc there is an easy way to do this. To the right of the Shutdown button is an arrow, move your cursor to this and a menu will pop out to the side where you can choose your other...

If you would like certain applications to always appear on the Taskbar at the bottom of your screen, you need to pin these applications to the Taskbar. To do this, you use the Start menu to locate the item that you want, right-click on it and select Pin to Taskbar.

In the past, changing the order of items in the Taskbar was not easy to do. It is now just a matter of dragging them around to the order that you would like them in. If you want to move the Firefox icon to the left, simply click, hold down and drag it to that spot.

Some icons show up on the bottom of the screen because they are pinned there, but some show up because they are currently open. Windows 7 puts a highlighted box around the icons that are currently running. In the below image, the three applications with arrows above them are running, while the...

Right-clicking an item in the Taskbar brings up application specific functions. For example, right-clicking on GroupWise brings up options without having to bring up the Main Application Window to access them. This is very handy if the application is minimized.

Sometimes it is useful to have multiple open windows of the same application. If you already have an application open, you can hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and then click on the application in the Taskbar. This will open an new active window using the same application. The taskbar will...

Windows 7 includes an easy way to run two applications (or windows) side-by-side. If you drag one application to the left side of the screen, shading will show up on exactly half the screen. Simply release your mouse button and that application will take up the left half of your screen. You can do...